May 8-Landscapes of the Sacred 2-Adrienne Jones

In chapter 8 of “Landscapes of the Sacred,” there is a diagram outlining the tension of space and place within American cultural life. On the left side of the diagram is Comfort, “The Myth of the Small Town.” This myth is based on the sense of comfort and security that is associated with a “homey” place. Although this place may be most comfortable for someone, it also presents a sense of restrictiveness in a person’s life. For example, when a person lives in one area for their entire life, they begin to feel restricted and closed in.

May 8-Landscapes of the Sacred 1-Adrienne Jones

One of the readings in “Landscapes of the Sacred” is about the Medicine Wheel serving as a sacred place. Here, Lane attempts to show the reader the importance of the interpretation of a sacred place in order to fully understand it. The Medicine Wheel is a circle of stones on the top of a mountain. The Medicine Wheel was used by Native Americans to worship the gods, and to perform sacred rituals. In order for one fully appreciate a place like this, they must understand the cultural, spiritual, and historical significance it has—otherwise, it will only be a bunch of rocks.

May 8-Making Nature Sacred 3-Adrienne Jones

In “Making Nature Sacred,” Gatta speaks about Wendell Berry, a highly asteemed author. Berry grew up in the Baptist church and practiced many of its structured, religious studies. Soon, Berry decided to move to Kentucky and start a life of his own, not to completely divide from the Christian faith, but to submerge himself with nature so he could better understand the magnificence of God. One point he made that was very significant to me was his ideal of heaven. In the Christian church, Heaven is seen as a reward for those who have done everything they needed to do while they were on Earth and deserved a paradise when they die. Berry slightly disagrees with this. Instead of saying that Heaven is a just reward to man, he sees it as a “divine gift to a fallen people,” meaning that it is because of God’s grace that we will live in paradise when we die.

May 8-Making Nature Sacred 2-Adrienne Jones

In “Making Nature Sacred,” Gatta writes about Thomas Morton’s Idol Experiment. Morton’s book, “New English Canaan” evaluates the idea of ideology in Puritan practices. The Puritans see themselves as being higher than all others, and essentially, being pure. Gatta argues that the Puritan lifestyle is valid, in some ways, but also extreme, in others.

May 8-Making Nature Sacred 1-Adrienne Jones

“The ‘divinely beautiful’ luminosity of these heights sets the tone of his account in The Mountains of California. Pressing toward the summit of Mount Ritter, he perceived the rosy evening alpenglow to be ‘one of the most impressive of all the terrestrial manifestations of God.” Throughout “Making Nature Sacred,” Gatta uses examples from authors to express his feeling toward his belief in combining religious practices with nature.

May 8-Class Adventure 2-Adrienne Jones

In class, Dr. Redick showed us a lot of sacred places that he got to visit. In one place, he spoke of a beautiful tree that he spotted while backpacking. I thought that this was extremely significant because in the picture he showed us, there were no signs of civilization or sources of plant life, except for that tree. This tree reminded me of the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. This was especially apparent when Dr. Redick showed us a picture of the tree a year later, dead and completely fallen over.

May 8-Class Adventure-Adrienne Jones

In one class, we got to go to the Lion’s Ridge. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. Just being able to learn about this place made me have a warm feeling of peace and serenity inside of me. This experience definitely opened up my eyes to something. Newport News is definitely not a place of great wonder and possibility, but this experience showed me that there is always more than what meets the eye. I can only hope that I take this experience and apply it to my personal relationships.